Toaster



April 22, 1947.

original Filed oct. 16, 1941 wbr/7T tima,intheA accompanying drawings,

Patented Apr. 22, 1947 Nicholas Schafnitz, St. Louis,

Knapp-Monarch Company,

corporation of Missouri Originaly application 3 Claims.

f My present invention relates to a toaster, and particularly to constructional features of the casing thereof, the present application being a division of my co-pending application, led October 16, 1941, now Patent No. 2,336,753, issued Dec. 14, 1943.

One object of the invention is to provide a toaster casing which may be inexpensively and quickly fabricated from a base plate, a pair of side plates and a U-shaped assembly strip Yextending along the top and down the ends of the side plates, the side plates having door openings, and doors being hingedly mounted therein.

Another obj ect is to provide the foregoing listed toaster casing-elements so arranged that they nt together during assembly without the use of bolts, rivets or the,1ike,.and without the necessity of spot-welding parts together, vthe assembly strip, when finally applied, effecting a holding of. the parts together against subsequenty dislocation with respect to each other. f

lStill another object is to provide a novel heating` element supporting means within the toaster casing structure consisting of the side plates of the casing having inwardly directed flanges adjacent the tops and bottoms of their door openings to engage and support the heating element of the toaster, the side plates being then retained in assembled position by the twisting offears passing through the heating element and the insertion of grid wires, after which the parts are permanently retained assembled by the addition of the U-shaped assembly strip.

' vA further object is to provide the various parts of the toaster casing soA designed thatvthey may be readily stamped from sheet metal so that the only further operation for fabrication of the toaster is the placing of the parts together and the bending of certain sheet metal ears to retain them assembled.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Although the invention is susceptible of a variety of embodiments, it is unnecessary to fullydescribe and illustrate more than oneV in order torgive a full understanding of the invention both from its structural and functional standpoints. Accordingly, I have illustrated a preferred anddesirable embodiment of the invenln which:v

Divided and Serial No. 506,813

Mo., assignor to St. Louis, Mo., a

october 16, 1941, serial No. this application October ydirected side flanges I6 which extend Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toaster embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section thereof on the line 2--2 of Figure 1, with the lower righthand corner showing a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing only one end of the toaster, as the opposite end is symmetrical relative thereto;

Figure 4 is a bottom showing only one end, as lar in construction; and

Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged sectional views on the lines 5-5 and 6--, respectively, of Figure 3 to show the manner in which the heating element is supported. y

On the accompanying drawing I have shown a toastercasing which consists essentially of four parts, a base plate B, a side plate S, a door D and an assembly strip A. Two identical side plates S and two identical doors D are used in the assembly of a toaster casing, as will hereinafter appear. In addition to the four elements just referred to, I have shown aheating element l-I and a grid wire G. The heating element I-I is shown as a vertical sheet of insulation, such as mica or the like, but no attempt has been made to show the resistance ribbon thereon, which forms no part of my present invention. Likewise, the supply cord and wiring for such resistance ribbon have been omitted.

` The base plate B is a substantially flat plate having a pair of side marginal edges, indicated at Il), and a pair of end marginal edges indicated at I2. The plate is notched at each corner, with two notches I3, as best shown in Figure 4, whereby the portion between the notches constitutes an ear I4. Adjacent the ear I4 a downward depression l5 is formed in the metal of the base plate for the purpose of forming a supporting foot or button. Each side plate S is plan View of the toaster the opposite end is simiprovidedwith inwardly partially along theY ends, as, at I'I, the transition area between I6 and I1 being indicated at I8. The transition areas I8 are bumped upward1y,fas indicated bysemi-circular shading I9 in Figure 4, and as shown in cross-section at the lower right cornerof Figure 2. Accordingly, the transition the base plate ear I4, while the fianges I6 and I1 extend Ibelow the marginal-edges I0 and I2 of the base plate when the parts'are assembled.

= Each side plate S is provided with a door opening defined by a pair of side anges 20, a top ange 2l and a bottom flange 22. The iianges 20, 2| and 22 all extend inwardly and are of varying widths, as illustrated. The flanges are narrowest, and are perforated, as at 23, for the purpose of receiving tubularA pintles 24 pressed outwardly from side flanges 25 of the doors D. During assembly the pintles are forced between the flanges 20, which flanges are sprung apart enough to permit the pintles to enter the perfora-A tions 23, and the flanges then spring back and the door is thereafter retained in hinging relation with respect to the side plate.

The upper flanges 2l extend inwardly and terminate in marginal edges, bent downwardly to form heating element supporting anges 26. Likewise, the bottom anges 22 terminate in upwardly extending vertical flanges 2'! for cooperating with the heating element H to support it. The element H is positioned between the flanges 26 and 21, as shown in Figure 2, and to retain the heating element against shifting in the ver-v tical plane the flanges 26 have ears 28 extending through perforations in the heating element and perforations in the opposite flange 26, as shown in Figure 5. Similarly, the lower iianges 2l have ears 29 which may be twisted, as shown in Figure 6, to prevent the side plates from coming apart after their assembly relative to the heating element H.

For preventing the upper flanges 26 from separating from the heating element the ears 23 are not bent, but, instead, a U-shaped upper end 36 of the grid wire G is arranged to straddle the two flanges 26, the grid wire passing through slotted openings 3l in the flanges 2l for this purpose. Any desired number of the grid wires may be used, three of them being shown on the drawing. Their lower ends pass freely through slotted openings 32 in the lower flanges 22.

The grid wires G, in addition to spacing the slices of bread from the heating element H, serve as a tension means to keep the doors D in their upper position when the toaster is closed. The doors for this purpose are provided with inwardly extending flanges 33 at their lower ends, which are slotted, as at 31?.,r to receive the grid wires, as shown in Figure 3. The left side of Figure.2 illustrates one of the doors open` while the right side illustrates the door closed, in which position the bottom of the groove 34 coacts with the grid wire to spring it inwardly against its normal tendency to spring outwardly andV thereby the tension of the grid wire is imposed on the flange 3 The slots 32 permit this ment.

The doors D may be provided with operating handles 35 in any desired manner. I have shown ears 3B cut from sheet metal, forming the door and curving outwardly around the edge of the side plate to the handles 35 which are secured thereto, as by rivets 37.

i The final step in the assembly of my toaster springing movecasing is to place the U-shaped assembly strip A in position andl secure it. The strip A is chan-.- nel-shaped in cross-section, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the web thereof being indicated at 38 and 33a, and the iianges thereof at 3S and 35. rfhe web and flanges 38 and 39 extend down the ends of the toaster. |The fianges 39,. and 39,a cooperate with flanges 4) andv 59a extendingalong the tops and down the ends of the side plates S. When the flanges 39 cooperate with the iianges 4H, and the flanges 39a cooperate with the ilanges 40% the side plates V4S are permanently retained against any further spreading action (in a more rigid manner than the twisting of the ears -29 and the coaction of the U-shaped portion 30 of the grid wires G with the flanges 26 accomplish in a temporary manner during the assembly operations) by the lower ends of the webs 38a being turned inwardly as at 38h., to Contact with the bottom of the base plate B, and the final step in the assembly is to bend ears 4I on the terminal ends of the webs 38b upwardly through perforations |32 in the b-ase B. The parts are now held in assembled relation until such time as the ears al are removed from the perforations 42 for disassembly purposes.

From the foregoing description it is believed obvious how I have provided a comparatively simple toaster construction wherein a minimum of sheet metal parts are formed, and the operations for assembly are reduced to a minimum. The result is a comparatively inexpensive, yet rugged, toaster casing structure wherein the use of rivets and other fastening means are entirely eliminated. One spot-welding operation is used, and this involves the attachment of an angleshaped stop strip d3 to each iiange 2l of the side plates S, against which the upper edge of the door D engages to prevent the door from swinging too far inwardly in its closed position, and to more completely close the upper edge of the door against the escape of heat.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modied forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope without sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a` toaster, a base plate, a pair of side plates upstanding therefrom and having door openings therein and having spaced vertical flanges at the top and bottom between said door openings, a heating element confined between said flanges, projections on said bottom flanges extending through said heating element to prevent dislocation thereof in a vertical plane, said projections being `bent to prevent spreading of the lower ends of said side plates, and grid wires having U-shaped portions at their upper ends which straddle said upper heating element retaining flanges and constrain them to engage against said heating element whereby said upper iianges are retainedy against spreading.

2. n a toaster, a base plate, a pair of side plates upstanding therefrom and 'having door openings therein, doors hinged in said openings, said, side plates having inwardly extending horizontal flanges at the top and bottom Qf said door opening and vertical flanges. at the inner edges of said horizontal flanges, a heating element confined 'between said vertical flanges, projections on said vertical flanges extending throughV said heating element to prevent dislocation thereof in verticalV plane, said projections from said lower vertical fianges being arranged to temporarily prevent spreading of the lower ends of said side plates, grid wires having U-shaped por- A tions at their upper ends straddling said upper vertical fianges to temporarily retain them against spreading, and an assembly strip around the top and ends of said sideplates and having its lower ends extending under 'said base plate andl terminating in ears. extended upwardly through perforations therein to permanently retain said base plate and side plates assembled.

3. In a toaster, a base plate, a pair of side plates upstanding therefrom and having door openings therein, doors hinged in said openings, said side plates having inwardly extending horizontal flanges at the top and bottom of said door opening and vertical flanges at the inner edges of said horizontal flanges, a heating element confined between said vertical flanges, grid wires having U-shaped portions at their upper ends straddling said upper Vertical flanges to temporarily retain them against spreading, and an assembly strip around the top and ends of said side plates and having its lower ends extending under said base plate and terminating in ears extending upwardly through perforations therein to permanently retain said base plate and side plates assembled.

NICHOLAS SCHAFNITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 2,065,434 Eaton Dec. 22, 1936 1,130,987 Kuhn Mar. 9, 1915 1,533,075 Lindemann Apr. '7, 1925 1,519,176 Troger Dee. 16, 1924 `15 1,753,601 Eaton Apr. 8, 1930 2,061,433 Murasco Nov. 17, 1936 

